Multiple closure toggle actuated hopper outlet assembly



Dec. 13, 1966 G. B, DOREY 3,291,071

MULTIPLE CLOSURE TOGGLE ACTUATED HOPPER OUTLET ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 23,1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR GEORGE E. DORE) G. B. DOREY Dec. 13, 1966MULTIPLE CLOSURE TOGGLE ACTUATED HOPPER OUTLET ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Nov. 23, 1962 GEORGE E. DORE) G. B. DOREY Dec. 13, 1966 MULTIPLECLOSURE TOGGLE ACTUATED HOPPER OUTLET ASSEMBLY Filed NOV. 25, 1962 4Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR GEORGE E. DORE) R -mm G. B. DOREY Dec. 13, 1966MULTIPLE CLOSURE TOGGLE ACTUATED HOPPER OUTLET ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed NOV. 23. 1962 INVENTOR GEORGE E. DORE) tes to Enterprise Railway Eui meat Com lll., a corporation of lllino is p pany, Chlcago,

Filed Nov. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 239,692 7 Claimsn (Cl. 105-253) Theinvention relates to an improved Load Discharing Hopper Car of the typegenerally employed in railway operations and is of special importance inconnection with a car having openings for discharge of lading centrallybetween the rails.

The disposition of hoppers for discharging centrally between the rails,especially when associated with closures operable by transverselyextending shafts, renders operation of the closures inconvenient andeven hazardous unless the operating shafts are extended well beyond thehoppers towards the car sides. Sufficient lengthwise extension of theshafts in this manner to provide the necessary convenience and safety ofoperation renders the long overhanging shaft portions vulnerable tobending and distortion.

This invention proposes a solution to this problem by ate nt FIGURE 3 isa view similar to FIGURE 2 except that the locking dog and itsassociated linkage and operating mechanism is shown in overbalancedreleased position.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical elevational view of the structure shown in FIGURE1 as viewed from right to left.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of FIGURE 4 with the hopper walls eliminated tobetter illustrate the construction.

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view taken transversely of the car andshowing slightly more than one half ofthe width of the lower portion ofthe car embodying the invention, said view being taken on a linecorresponding substantially to line 6-6 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a detached frontal elevational view on an enlarged scale ofthe operating head.

FIGURE 8 is a side elevational view of the operating head shown inFIGURE 7 as viewed from left to right.

FIGURE 9 is an elevational view of the operating head illustrating therelative position of thehead and its operating bar as the shaft overrunsthe bar.

FIGURE 10 is a transverse vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale,as taken on a line ll01tl of FIG- means of a frame structure embodyingoutrigger frame 1 members for directly supporting the shaft adjacent itsoperating locations and thus eliminating objectionable shaft overhang.

Objects of this invention among others are to provide a closure assemblyincorporating framing members, closures and door operating mechanismsassembled in a single package applicable to the car as a self-containedunit; to provide a frame work structure surrounding a hopper and havingoutrigger frame members for rotatably supporting an operating shaft; toprovide mechanisms for the complete operation of closing and sealing aswell as opening and rupturing of the sealing ribbon of hopper closuresfrom any one side of the car; to provide an improved safety operatinghead for operating quick discharge closures and to provide locking dogson opposite sides of the car with'toggle locking linkage mechanismsoperable from either side of the car.

The invention furtherrelates to the arrangement of the operating shaftand its associated linkage in relation to other parts of the carstructure and in the novel frame structure for supporting the hopperclosures and mechanisms therefor.

The invention further resides in details of construction and arrangementof parts such as shown in the drawings or described in thespecification.

For further comprehension of the invention reference may be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein an embodiment of the invention is shown asapplied to a hopper of a railway car, said darwings showing only enoughof the car structure as to show the application to one hopper, it beingunderstood that a plurality of such hoppers is usually incorporated in arailway car of standard construction.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGURE 1 is a partial side elevationalview of the lower portion of a hopper showing only as much of the hopperas necessary to show the application of the invention to one hopper,said view showing the outer portion of the operating head as well as theouter wall of the dog supporting bracket broken away to betterillustrate the parts.

FIGURE 2 is a fractional side elevational view on an enlarged scale ofthe shaft locking and sealing mechanism as viewed with the parts inlocked position and the sealing ribbon applied.

URE 4, showing by full lines the swinging doors in closed position andindicating by conventional dot and dash lines the same doors in openposition.

Referring now to the drawings, the relation of the hopper to the railsand to the side of the car is well seen in FIGURE 6 Where one of therails is indicated atllll,

one of the wheels of the car indicated by conventional dot and dashlines at 11, a side wall of the car at 12, a side sill 12a, and one ofthe hoppers at 13.

The hopper 13 is formed by oppositely sloping transverse'walls 14-14meeting with longitudinal oppositely sloping walls ]l5]l5 to form aninverted four-sided truncate-like structure.

The sloping walls lead to an opening 16 which is located to dischargelading centrally between the rails. The discharge opening 16 issurrounded by a framing structure 17 which is preferably composed oftransversely extending frame members lit-18, preferably of angle shape,with one wall 19 overlying the longitudinally sloping hopper walls 1414and having the adjacent wall 20 extending at a normal to the slopingwall 14. The walls 19 throughout the distance of the discharge openingare bent to present a substantially vertically downwardly extending wallsection 21.

The said framing members Iii-18 are extended well beyond the hopperopening to present cantilever extensions 22 of appreciable length lyingbeyond the hopper openings.

Connecting the distal ends 23-43 of the extensions 22 are beam members24 which are preferably of angle shape with one wall 25 verticallydisposed and the adjacent wall 26 extending laterally outwardly. Thesaid members 2424 are welded to the members l818 as indicated at 27(FIG. 5) and function as outrigger frame members for supportingco-operation with an operating shaft and. closure operating mechanismsas will be described. The space intermediate the hopper walls and theoutwardly spaced outrigger frame members provide wells 28 for theaccommodation of door connecting linkages.

The pair of framing members 18-18 are further united together bylongitudinally extending members 2929 which each include a sloping wall30 overlying the lower portion of sloping hopper wall 15 and dependingfrom said sloping wall 30 is a vertically disposed wall section 31.

The said depending wall sections 21 and 31 thus pro vide a four-sidedopening having substantially vertical walls on all sides. The saidlongitudinal members 2929 are welded to transverse frame 18*18 at 32(FIG. 5).

21 and 31 are oppositely swinging doors 35-35 and a transverselyextending ridgemember 36 disposed midway of the opening area. The ridgemember 36 is of generally inverted V shape presenting oppositelydownwardly sloping walls 37-37 which overlie the swinging edges of thedoors when in closed position.

The said ridge member extends between the depending wall sections 31 andis welded thereto at 38. Each door includes a flat plate body member 39having upwardly extending side walls 40-40 and front and rear upwardlyextending walls 41 and 42, the latter merging into a hollow tubularformation 43. The said tubular formation 43 is adapted to be positionedin the angle formed by angularly related walls 19 and 20 of framingmember 18 and is hingedly retained by a continuously extending rod 44which is inserted therethrough and held at each end in bearing plates45. The plates 45 are fitted edgewise in the angle presented by walls 19and 20 of member 18 and welded thereto as shown at 46. The said rods 44are maintained against axial displacement by means of stops 47 welded tothe respective walls 19 and 20.

'The doors when in closed position enclose the longi- -tudinal dependingside walls 31 and the transversely extending walls 21 and 37 thusproviding leak proof seals completely around the discharge opening.Outwardly of the side walls 31 are shield plates 48 which effectivelyguard the lading against adverse weather conditions.

The operation of the doors is effected through the medium of atransversely extending rotatable shaft 49 journalled in bearings 50carried by the outrigger frame members 24. The bearings 50 are locatedmidway of the members 24 which allows the shaft to extend beneath thecentrally located ridge 36. The said bearings 50 preferably includevertical and horizontal walls 51 and 52 for attachment to the respectivewalls 25 and 26 of the frame members 24.

The respective doors are reinforced on the underside by angle shapedmembers as indicated at 53 and 54 respectively and said members arefitted at each end with end brackets 55 each having a body portion 56received in the angle presented by the angled walls of thereinforcements. Lugs 57 extending lengthwise from the body portion 56are apertured at 58 for connection with door mechanisms.

Disposed to extend within the wells 28 between the hopper walls andoutrigger frame members are door linkage connections 59 and 60. The saidlinkage connections 59 and 60 are of similar construction except thatlinkage 59' approaches its final locking position from an overheaddirection, whereas linkage 60 approaches its locking position from anunderhead direction. For each hopper there are two overhead linkages 59and two underhead ones 60 but inasmuch as the construction of theindividual linkage assemblies is similar the description herein will beconfined to only one of such linkage assemblies. Each linkage assemblyincludes a radially extending arm 61 having a hub 62 encircling theshaft 49 and fastened therto by welding as indicated at 63. The arm 61includes a pair of walls 64-64 spaced apart and apertured at 65 (FIG.10). A link member 66 is sandwiched between the walls 64-64 andpivotally united therewith by a pivot 67 extending through the aperture65 (FIGS. 4 and 5). The opposite end of the link member 66 is forked topresent spaced walls 68-68 which straddle an eyebolt 69 and is pivotallyconnected therewith by a pivot 70. The eyebolt 69 includes aserewthrcadcd bolt portion 71 which extends through aperture 58 of thelug 57. The screwthreaded portion 71 is fitted with a complementaryscrewthreaded nut 72 whereby adjustment may be effected to obtaintightly closed doors. A locknut 73 is applied to the bolt on theopposite face of the lug 57.

As will be observed by reference to FIGURE 10, the

linkage connections when in closed position assume an overcenter togglelocked position with the direction of pull for the overhead linkage 59extending along a line 74 lying below the axis 75 of the shaft 49whereas this direction of pull for underhead linkage 60 extends abovethe axis 75 of the shaft on a line 76. The link members are concaved at77 to permit the overcenter locking action described.

Rotation of the shaft 49 is effected from either side of the car and tothisend an operating head 78 is nonrotatably mounted on each end of theshaft outwardly of the outrigger frame members. The operating headincludes a hub portion 79 encircling the shaft and welded thereto at 80and 81 and outwardly of said hub there is a cam-like body portion 82having a rim face 83 specially contoured for co-operation with lockingmeans as will be hereinafter described.

Outwardly of the body portion 82 the head is provided with spaced bargripping means 84 and 85 for holding a removable operating bar 86therebetween. The gripping means 84 is in the form of an opensidedpocket 87 axially aligned with the shaft 49 and having a partiallyclosed outer end 88 for retaining the end of the bar against unwarrantedslippage.

The companion gripping means 85 includes a laterally outwardly extendingwall 89 spaced lengthwise from the pocket 87. The side edges 90 of thewall 89 constitute bearing seats for the operating bar 86. The seatingedges 90 flare outwardly towards the outer end of the wall to form stops91 for preventing outward slippage of the operating bar.

The gripping means 84 and 85 are so disposed as to release the operatingbar 86 upon overrunning of the shaft as the doors suddenly drop. Therelease of the bar 86 is effected in part by an outward sidewisemovement imparted thereto by inclined edge surfaces 92 of the walls 93leading to the pocket 87. The inclined walls 93 merge into the grippingwall 89 and the latter extends from said merging location at an acuteangle to the shaft thereby adequately spacing the gripping locations toprovide a secure hold on the operating bar, The shaft is locked againstreverse rotation by locking dogs 94 disposed on opposite sides of thecar in alignment with the rim face 83 of the operating heads. Eachlocking dog 94 is pivotally mounted at 95 on a bracket 96 and is formedwith an arcuately shaped locking face 97 adapted to register with anabutment wall 98 of the rim face 83 of the head. The locking dogs areswingable to an overbalanced released position out of the path of theabutment wall 98 and in order to guard against accidental return of thedogs to locking position, unless the doors are fully closed, the rimface 83 of each head includes an arcuately shaped section 99concentrically related to the axis 75 of the shaft 49 and adapted to barreturn of the dogs as seen in FIGURE 3.

Coordinated movement of the locking dogs on opposite sides of the car iseffected through the agency of a transversely disposed locking shaft 100rotatably mounted in bearings 101 which in turn are mounted on theoutrigger beams 24. Lever arms 102 which are non-rotatably secured tothe shaft 100 by welding as at 103 are aligned with the respective dogs94 and connected therewith by pairs of elongated links 104-104 throughthe medium of pivots 105 and 106. The lever arms 102 are provided withoutwardly laterally extending handle portions 107 and the shaft 100 islikewise provided with outwardly laterally extending hub portions 108aligned with said handle portions there-by permitting insertion of aremovable bar 109 therebetween for prolongation of leverage.

The lever arms 102 and links 104 operate as a jackknife mechanism movingto closed position in togglelocked relation as seen in FIGURE 2. Thehandle 107 limits over center knuckling movement of the parts by restingon the center of the links 104. Similarly the opening movement of thelinks 104 and levers 102 is limited by contact between the links and theshaft 100 as seen in FIGURE 3. The lever arms 102 and links 104 areprovided with apertures 110 and 111 respectively which are arranged tolie in registering alignment when the parts are in full lockingarrangement for the accommodation of a sealing ribbon 112 as seen inFIGURE 2. It is to 'be noted that the sealing ribbon may be applied oneither side of the car and rupturing effected from either side.

Assuming the doors in closed position and the seal in position as seenin FIGURE 2, the unloading operation is effected by swinging the leverarms 102 to position as seen in FIGURE 3 thereby rupturing the sealingribbon 1112. Thereafter the removable bar is positioned as indicated byfull lnes in FIGURE 9 and sufficient upward movement imparted to the barto release the mechanism whereupon the doors open and the operating headoverruns the bar as indicated by conventional dot and dash linesdisplacing the bar sidewise outwardly and at the same time the grippingwall 89 swings beyond the end of the bar thereby assuring completedisengagement of the latter.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In combination, a railway hopper car having side and end walls and acentrally disposed hopper including an opening for downward discharge oflading centrally between the rails comprising:

(a) transversely extending frame members adjacent opposite sides of theopening,

(b) oppositely swinging doors for the opening pivotally mounted on saidtransverse members,

(c) said transverse frame members having projecting portions extendingappreciably beyond the hopper toward the sides of the car,

(d) beam members extending between and connecting the distal ends of theprojecting members to provide an open well between each beam and thefacing hopper wall,

(e) bearings disposed midway of the beam members and carried thereby,

(f) a shaft journalled in said bearings to extend transversely of thecar between the swinging edges of the doors and (g) linkage mechanismsextending between the shaft and the ends of the doors and being disposedin the open wells.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein the shafts are extendedoutwardly of the bearins and are there provided with operating headsarranged to releasably hold a removable bar at an acute angle to theshaft.

3. In a railway car having a hopper and an opening for the downwarddischarge of ladi-ng and a pivotally mounted door for the opening, incombination,

(a) an operating shaft,

(b) winding linkage mechanism connecting the shaft and door for liftingthe latter from open to closed position by rotation of the shaft andholding the door in closed position;

(c) said shaft upon initial rotation in an unwinding direction effectingrelease of the door and allowing said door to drop to the open position,

(d) said dropping door effecting unwinding of the linkage and causingrotation of the shaft,

(e) means on the shaft for releasably accommodating a removableoperating bar including:

(f) an operating head having (g) spaced gripping seats for seating thebar therebetween,

(h) one of said seats comprising a pocket axially aligned with the shaftfor holding an end of the bar and (i) the other of said sea-ts includinga wall extending outwardly laterally beyond the shaft at an acute angleto the axis of the shaft and having the edges of said wall forming seatsfor the bar,

(j) said wall upon overrunning movement of the shaft under the influenceof the dropping door being adapted to circle beyond the pocketed end ofthe bar during opening of the door and releasably displace the latter byimparting an outward sidewi'se movement thereto.

4. As an article of manufacture, a discharge outlet and doors thereforwith door operating mechanism assembled in a self contained package .forapplication as a unit to the downwardly inwardly converging walls of afour sided hopper of a railway car of the type adapted for dischargecentrally between the rails with operation of the doors available fromeither side of the car, said assembly including:

(a) a frame structure for bordering the hopper formed in part by (b)transversely and longitudinally extending frame members disposed tooverlie the hopper sloping walls and arranged for attachment thereto,

(c) said transverse members being extended beyond the overlyinglongitudinal members to present overhanging extensions,

(d) outwardly spaced beams extending longitudinally between andconnecting the distal ends of the overhanging portions of the transversebeams,

(e) oppositely swinging doors hinged to the transverse overlying framemembers,

(f) bearings carried by the outwardly spaced longitudinal beam membersat a midway location thereof,

'(g) a rotatable shaft journalled in the bearings and extendingtransversely through the hopper above the meeting edges of the swingingdoors when closed,

(h) an inverted V shaped ridge extending transversely between thelongitudinal overlying members and secured thereto,

(i) said ridge being disposed above the shaft and above the swingingedges of the doors when in closed position,

(j) self locking linkage mechanisms connecting the shaft and the ends ofthe doors and disposed between the hopper and the outwardly spacedlongitudinal beams,

(-k) means on opposite ends of the shaft and disposed outwardly of thebearings [for rotating the shaft and thus actuating the doors fromeither side of the assembly,

(l) a radially extending lug on each of said rotating means,

(m) a pivotally mounted locking dog at each side of the assembly andaligned with said lugs for engagement therewith for preventing rotationof the shaft,

(11) means for moving the respective dogs in unison from either side ofthe assembly including:

(o) a rotatable locking shaft juxtaposed to the operating shaft,

(p) radially extending lever arms fast on the locking shaft in alignmentwith each dog and (q) linkage pivotally connected to the lever arms andto the dogs for moving the latter by rotation of the locking shaft.

5. The invention set forth in claim 4 wherein the radial arms include anoutwardly laterally extending handle 7 8 adapted to rest on the linkagesto thereby limit overcenter References Cited by the Examiner knucklingmovement of the aims and linkages.

6. The invention set forth in claim 5 wherein the lock- UNITED STATESPATENTS in g dogs are swung to released position by opening the 763:1856/1904 Johnson X angle (between the linkages and arms and limiting such5 112801152 10/1918 BTOWII 105-289 opening movement by contact betweenthe linkages and 1,308,421 7/ 1919 Hillmall vl05310 X the locking shaft.2,950,144 8/ 1960' Doiey 105-304 X 7. The invention set forth in claim 6wherein the locking shaft is provided with hub portions disposedoutwardly ARTHUR LA POINT, Pnmary Examine"- Of the arms and in alignmentWith the handles of the radial 10 LEO QUACKENBUSH MILTON BUCHLER armswhereby a removable operating bar may be posi- Exaziners tioned betweenthe handle and hub portion for prolongation of operating leverage. H.BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION, A RAILWAY HOPPER CAR HAVING SIDE AND END WALLS AND ACENTRALLY DISPOSED HOPPER INCLUDING AN OPENING FOR DOWNWARD DISCHARGE OFLADING CENTRALLY BETWEEN THE RAILS COMPRISING: (A) TRANSVERSELYEXTENDING FRAME MEMBERS ADJACENT OPOSITE SIDES OF THE OPENING, (B)OPPOSITELY SWINGING DOORS FOR THE OPENING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAIDTRANSVERSE MEMBERS, (C) SAID TRANSVERSE FRAME MEMBERS HAVING PROJECTINGPORTIONS EXTENDING APPRECIABLY BEYOND THE HOOPER TOWARD THE SIDES OF THECAR, (D) BEAM MEMBERS EXTENDING BETWEEN AND CONNECTING THE DISTAL ENDSOF THE PROJECTING MEMBERS TO PROVIDE AN OPEN WELL BETWEEN EACH BEAM ANDTHE FACING HOPPER WALL, (E) BEARINGS DISPOSED MIDWAY OF THE BEAM MEMBERSAND CARRIED THEREBY, (F) A SHAFT JOURNALLED IN SAID BEARINGS TO EXTENDTRANSVERSELY OF THE CAR BETWEEN THE SWINGING EDGES OF THE DOORS AND (G)LINKAGE MECHANISMS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE SHAFT AND THE ENDS OF THE DOORSBEING DISPOSED IN THE OPEN WELLS.